Taking its title from the classic
jazz
book by
Valerie Wilmer
,
As Serious as Your Life
is a solo recording wherein multi-instrumentalist
Joe McPhee
deeply explores various facets and territories in the music. He begins with a sad, heartfelt tribute on pocket cornet to the late
Miles Davis
and includes homages to musicians from
Sun Ra
to
Coltrane
Conlon Nancarrow
.
McPhee
freely uses overdubbing, either accompanying himself on various wind instruments or, as on the fascinating version of
Gershwin
's
"The Man I Love,"
with percolating
electronics
reminiscent of South African
mbira
music. His
blues
-drenched tenor playing on this piece takes it to realms undreamt of by its creator. This foundation in the
is one of the things separating
from many contemporaries plumbing the freer areas of
, and it serves him very well. Few of his peers could pull off the devastating rendition of
"After the Rain"
that
, on soprano, does here.
offers a fairly wide picture of the range of his talents and creative genius, and is arguably the finest of his solo recordings. Highly recommended. ~ Brian Olewnick